Tubular lantern



Patented Nov. 24, 1936 PATENT OFFICE TUBULAR LANTERN Robert A. Currie, Syracuse, N. Y., assignor to R. E. Dietz Company, New York, N. Y.

Application June 4, 1935, Serial No. 24,879

5 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in tubular lanterns, and more particularly in cold blast tubular lanterns, in which fresh air is supplied to the burner from an air chamber located at the base portion of the lantern.

In these lanterns, as ordinarily constructed, the air is supplied to this chamber through the air tubes at the sides of the lantern and communicating at their upper ends with an upper air chamber surrounding the lantern chimney, and through which fresh air enters the tubes. The lower air chamber is located below the burner and above the oil fount or reservoir in the lantern base and the bottom wall of this chamber constitutes the top of the oil reservoir, this wall having heretofore been formed by a partition plate which is secured in the hollow shell forming the oil reservoir and spaced below the top of said shell. This bottom wall of the air chamber is usually crowned or arched upwardly to afford a rigid support for the burner, which ordinarily is retained in a central collar rigid with said bottom wall. The crowning or arching of this bottom wall stiffens it and thus ensures a rigid support for the burner, which is important, since deflection or movement of the burner supporting collar would interfere with its proper registration with the burner and objectionably affect the use or operation of the lantern. The top wall of the air chamber or oil fount shell is also usually crowned or domed, and this formation of the top and bottom walls of the air chamber increases the capacity of the oil fount or reservoir while enabling a desired minimum overall height of the lantern to be obtained.

In the practical use of such lanterns, particularly those of small sizes, it has been found that the arched or crowned bottom of the air chamber reduces somewhat the air space and obstructs to some extent the supply of air from the air tubes, which connect with the peripheralpo-rtion of the air chamber, to the burner. Such obstruction may be suflicient in some cases to reduce the efliciency of the lantern, and it has been found, in some instances, to cause the flame to be extinguished in the use of the lantern in strong winds.

An adequate supply of fresh air to the burner is essential to eflicient operation of the lantern and the production and maintenance of the bright white flame, and other conditions may arise where an increased air supply is desirable. It is important, therefore, to avoid reduction or any objectionable obstruction of the supply of air to the burner.

The objects of my invention are to form the air chamber so that while maintaining the advantages of the arched or crowned formation of its bottom, nevertheless obstruction of the supply of air from the tubes to the burner is prevented; and also to provide a tubular lantern having the other features of improvement and advantage hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. '1 is a sectional elevation of the lower portion of a tubular lantern embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view thereof on line 2-2, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the air chamber on line 3--3, Fig. 1.

The lantern construction illustrated in. the drawing, except as to the hereinafter described formation of the air chamber, is known. I0 represents the oil fount or reservoir in the lantern base, H the burner, 12 the burner cone, l3 the air chamber between the oil reservoir and the burner, and It the air tubes at opposite sides of the lantern globe l5, and connected at their lower ends with the sides of the air chamber. As shown, the side walls of the oil reservoir are formed by a hollow shell IS, the dome-shaped top of which forms the top wall of the air chamber l3, and the bottom wall of the air chamber, as well as the top of the oil reservoir, is formed by a partition or plate I! which is secured at its periphery within the shell l6 below the top thereof and below the openings in the sides of the air chamber through which the latter communicates with the air tubes. This wall or plate I! is provided with the usual central hole through which the burner wick enters the oil reservoir, and surrounding this hole and rigid with the wall [1 is the usual circular collar l8 in which the lantern burner removably fits and is supported. The air passes from the air chamber to the burner through the annular space between the burner and the burner cone I2 which, as usual, is removably mounted on the top of the air chamber. The air chamber bottom I! is of crowned or upwardly arched formation. l9 indicates the usual filling throat for the oil fount.

As thus far described, the construction is known.

In order to prevent the crowned or arched bottom wall I! of the air chamber, which would otherwise extend upwardly between the burner and the air tube openings in the sides of the air chamber, from obstructing the supply of air from the air tubes to the burner, and to increase the air space in the air chamber, the bottom wall I! is formed with lateral depressions 2| which extend inwardly from the outer marginal portion of said bottom wall below and in line with the air tube openings 20 in the sides of the air chamber and, preferably these depressions connect with an annular depression or corrugation 22 in the bottom wall surrounding and adjacent to the burner. By this formation of the bottom wall I1, while the crowning of the same is maintained with its resultant stifiening and other advantages of the wall, the crowned portion of the wall does not project upwardly opposite the air tube openings or between said openings and the burner, but on the contrary, unobstructed passages are provided leading through the crowned portion of the bottom wall from the air tube openings to the annular depressed portion of the bottom surrounding the burner so that an increased and adequate supply of air from the air tubes to the burner is insured. The lateral depressed portions 2| of the wall also function to add to the stiffness and rigidity of the wall and further insure a rigid support for the burner.

I claim as my invention:

1. A tubular lantern comprising a burner, air tubes for supplying air to the burner, and an air chamber adjoining the burner and into the peripheral portion of which said air tubes discharge the air, said air chamber having a crowned bottom with its crest portion between its center and a low peripheral portion, and said bottom having depressions leading inwardly from the discharge ends of the air tubes through said crest portion of the bottom.

2. A tubular lantern comprising a burner, air tubes for supplying air to the burner, and an air chamber adjoining the burner and into the peed by depressions opposite the discharge ends of the air tubes.

3. A tubular lantern comprising a burner, air tubes, and an air chamber with which the air tubes connect at the sides of the air chamber for supplying air to the burner, the bottom wall of said air chamber being upwardly crowned between low peripheral and central portions and having depressions in said crowned portion leading inwardly from the discharge ends of the air tubes to said depressed central portion.

4. A tubular lantern comprising a burner, air tubes, and an air chamber with which the air tubes connect at the sides of the air chamber for supplying air to the burner, the bottom wall of said air chamber being upwardly crowned and having a central depression from which the burner rises, and depressions extending inwardly through said crowned portion from the outer portion of the air chamber opposite the discharge ends of said air tubes to said annular depression.

5. A tubular lantern comprising an oil reservoir body having a fixed crowned top wall, a crowned partition in said body beneath said top wall forming the bottom of an air chamber of which said crowned top wall forms the sides and top, air tubes connected to the sides of the air chamber for supplying air thereto, and a burner rising centrally from the air chamber, said parti-v tion having depressions in its crowned portion leading from the discharge ends of the air tubes to the center of the air chamber.

ROBERT A. CURRIE. 

